Findings from MMGY Global’s 2017–2018 Portrait of American Travelers® research and other agency research and developments were recently featured in several high-profile publications, including two separate stories in The New York Times, USA Today’s 10 Best, The Points Guy, 4Hoteliers, Travel Daily News, VICE and The Business Journal.
Here are some of the highlights:
U.S. Road Trips on the Rise
According to MMGY Global’s 2017–2018 Portrait of American Travelers® insights, 39 percent of U.S. leisure travel in 2017 included a road trip – up 17 points from the year prior. Nearly 14 million more vacations were taken within the U.S. during the past year compared with outside the country, MMGY Global found. This means that domestic leisure trips now make up 85 percent of American vacations. In a recent New York Times piece, Steve Cohen, the senior vice president for travel insights at MMGY, provides further Portrait of American Travelers® road trip insights.
Americans Are Going Green in Hospitality
More and more American travelers are choosing to skip hotel housekeeping to help the environment in exchange for vouchers, hotel points or other perks. MMGY Global’s 2016–2017 Portrait of American Travelers® reveals that 13 percent of U.S. travelers selected a travel service provider specifically for environmental considerations last year.
“What we’ve seen fairly steadily over the course of five-plus years among travelers is that there’s a general sense and appreciation for anything related to sustainability and environmental issues,” explained Craig Compagnone, executive vice president of business strategy at MMGY, in a recent article published in The New York Times.
Travel Interest Up One Point from Last Year
After displaying a five-point decrease from the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017, traveler sentiment has increased one point from last year. MMGY’s latest travelhorizons™ survey found that six out of 10 (62 percent) U.S. adults plan to travel for leisure during the next six months. The findings also show that nearly a third of the respondents – 28 percent – plan to spend more on vacations. Travel Market Report, Travel Agent Central, Insider Travel Report and O’Dywer’s reported on the Traveler Sentiment Index™, which measures U.S. adults’ interest in travel, time available for travel, personal finances available for travel, perceived affordability of travel, quality of service and perceived safety of travel.